Learning The Art of Belonging
by DrakeRise
Summary: This is a fluffy story telling about the two years i spent in Iselia with Lloyd, Dirk, Genis, Raine, Colette, Frank and Phaidra. it's just a series of storied telling about each day as i progress from being a total stranger to being a member of the group. a tale of how i overcame my social anxiety and let myself open up. rating for occasional patches of Mature content (no romance)
1. Chapter 1

April 6th 4002.

As Lloyd and I were heading through the forest I turned to him. "So, I take it that you being late to class is normal?"

"Yup."

"And having unfinished homework or if you have finished then you got all the answers wrong?"

"Yep."

I paused for a moment. "How do you think the others are going to react to seeing you not only on time but with complete homework with correct answers?"

Lloyd blinked at me. "Funny. Very funny." He grinned. "I can't wait to see it."

When Lloyd and I got to school I could see why he fell asleep in class all the time. Getting through that forest was hard. I had to sit down and rest for a few minutes after we got there. I had no stamina, even with an Exsphere.

Lloyd led me over to the school. It would take a while before I was able to navigate the village without problem. When we got to the school house I almost burst out laughing at the looks on Genis, Colette and Raine's faces. As it was I had trouble keeping the laughter in. It was even better when Lloyd bounded over and handed his homework to Raine with a huge grin on his face.

Raine looked his homework over and the look on her face broke me. I burst out laughing and Lloyd joined in. The looks on their faces was just so funny.

Everyone else looked over, confused, but didn't comment.

We eventually got ourselves back under control and looked back up at the professor. Lloyd was still snickering. "Sorry guys, but your faces were priceless."

I nod and giggle.

Raine cleared her throat. "Well. I must admit it is a surprise to see you here on time. Let alone with complete homework."

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah. Drake woke me up on time by stabbing me in the ribs with his fingers and he helped me with my homework too. He explained each question so I actually understood it."

Raine and Genis looked at me like I was Martel reincarnate or something. I shrugged. "Lloyd and I have a similar way of thinking about things so I just taught him a different way of working the answer out. And I managed to train him into _not_ pulling random numbers out of nowhere."

Raine nodded. "Well, thank you. I have been trying for four years to teach Lloyd anything."

I nod. "I'm just taking a stab in the dark here but I think I know what the problem is." The four of them look at me curiously. "Lloyd, how old were you when you started coming to school here?"

"Six. Dad always took me though the forest but I started coming on my own when I was nine."

I nodded. "Right. Well that will be it. You were too tired after coming through the forest that you fell asleep in class. It would have taken you a long time to get used to the journey, let alone be able to study after it. You fell asleep in class and missed the basics of things so you didn't understand what was going on when you woke up and eventually gave up trying. Right?"

Lloyd blinked. "That is exactly it."

I nod at Raine. "And you probably just thought that his falling asleep in class was due to him not caring about school work so you didn't spend extra time working with him to cover what he missed while he was asleep right? You were just adjusting to being a teacher here and had been thrown in the deep end."

Raine nodded. "Yes. I didn't realise there was anything behind it. I'm sorry Lloyd. If I had been paying more attention I would have noticed the problem and helped you."

"No, it's my fault. I should have told dad I couldn't handle going through the forest myself. I was being stubborn and wanted to show my dad I was old enough to go to school myself. I should have asked for help." Lloyd looked at the ground.

I sighed, I didn't want to make them feel bad. "What is done is done and dwelling on what should have been done will do nothing to rectify the situation." I blink at Lloyd's confused look. "Rectify means fix." He nodded. "All you can do now is work up from the basics. It shouldn't take too long."

Genis nodded. "I can help there."

I nod. "Maybe if some of the... higher achieving students in class worked with some of those who were only struggling a little that would give you time to help the ones who need the most help. A Teacher's aid program if you will."

Raine narrowed her eyes and put a hand to her chin. "That is a rather good idea. Could you and I go over it after school today?"

I nod. "As long as you let me in the class. I need to learn how to read and write."

Raine nodded and soon the bell chimed and everyone was herded into the classroom. I took the empty seat to the left of Lloyd and Raine went up to the front of the class and began teaching. Ugh. I forgot how much I hated school.

I somehow managed to force myself to pay attention (Thankfully my ADD was not as bad since I had come here. The subject matter interested me more often than not) despite the fact that I couldn't see the board clearly. Just a bunch of white squiggles on the blackboard. I couldn't read a thing. Ugh... what did I do with my glasses?

When Raine finished her lecture Genis moved over to help Lloyd understand what she had said and Raine beckoned me over to her desk and started teaching me letters and numbers. I spent the whole morning trying to memorise them and writing out simple sentences so I could practice writing them out. I already knew how to hold a pencil and use it properly but I didn't know how to write _these_ letters. It would take some time before I would be able to read without difficulty.

By lunch time I was about ready to sleep. Too much work for my poor brain.

I sat with Lloyd, Genis and Colette for lunch. The three of them tried to offer me bits of their lunch but I declined. I had already eaten today and last night. It would be a while before I was hungry again. I assured them all I would be fine and after a while managed to convince them to stop trying to give me food.

The rest of the day passed quickly. Genis helped Lloyd and I understand the elemental cycle (Which elements were strong or weak against which other ones) and I helped Lloyd learn a way to remember which summon spirit name went with which element. While Genis was explaining to Lloyd about it in a way neither of us understood I did some quick doodles of each of the spirits.

When Raine saw me she asked me to draw them larger so she could have some visual aids for the subject. I spent the next hour happily doodling the summon spirits.

Colette and Genis both helped us with geography. I picked it up quickly and helped Lloyd understand what they were saying and Genis helped me with reading the words written down. I was glad, even though it made me feel stupid.

When class let out for the day I was feeling quite happy with myself. Genis, Lloyd and Colette were going to Genis' house for a while before going to the beach to have some fun. I stayed behind with Raine and we went over some of the details for the teacher's aid program. To make it worth the while of anyone helping it would go down in their records that that they had experience as a classroom assistant.

After we finished that I quickly finished my drawings of the summon spirits and gave them to Raine. I had written on the back which one was which along with their titles (which had taken me quite a few minutes, not only because I fail at spelling but also because I was effectively learning a new language). Raine was rather upset at the pictures of Undine and Luna. I understood why. Luna was being provocative with that staff and the moon and Undine didn't have a shirt on.

I managed to escape her wrath by agreeing with her that it was sexist (my words not hers) and that I wouldn't have drawn them like that if that wasn't what they looked like.

After she calmed down she rummaged in the draws on her desk and pulled out several sheets of paper and a pair of books. "Here. These worksheets should help you with your writing and these books will help your reading skills."

I thanked her profusely and put them in my bag. Raine eventually went out to ask some people about taking on teaching with her and I went to find the kids.

It was weird. Raine was only a few months older than me but she seemed so... weary. Like she had so much on her plate that it had aged her. She was far older than her years and that just wasn't fair. Hopefully with all the help she would be getting soon it would help her relax a bit.

I got to the Sage's house but no one was there so I went to the beach. I spotted them easily enough, helping clear the last of the debris from the wreck. I went over to help. Some of the stuff was able to be salvaged but most if it was only useful for firewood.

I looked over the junk and had an idea. I quickly told Lloyd and he grinned before running off to find the village carpenter. He was a man in his mid thirties with thinning blond hair. "Hello lad. Lloyd here tells me you've had an idea?"

I nodded and quickly ran over it with him. He frowned and nodded slowly before he grinned. "That just might work. We would need to double check all of this and I might need to replace a lot but I think it would work. Wherever did ya get the idea lad?"

I smiled sadly. "There was one near where I lived... before the Desians..." I turned away and shook my head. "So it can be done?"

The man nodded. "Yeah. I might have to get Dirk to help though. He's a better craftsman than me."

Lloyd nodded and grinned. "I can ask him later."

The carpenter grinned and went off to re-evaluate the wreck now that he had a new plan for the wood. Lloyd turned to me. "You okay, Drake?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. Sorry." I looked over the where Genis and Colette where crouched down over something. "What do you think they found?"

Lloyd shrugged and we went over to look. "Hey guys. What are you doing?"

Genis and Colette both jumped and turned around. Genis scowled at us. "Goddess, Lloyd. Don't do that!" he turned back around. "There's a crab with no shell."

I looked down and smiled. "Oh, that's just a hermit crab."

The other's looked at me and I smiled. "A hermit crab is a crab that changes its shell several times throughout its life. When it outgrows the one it has, it searches for a new one." I looked around and spotted a shell not too far away that was about the right size. I picked it up and placed it near the crab. It looked the shell over and climbed inside. It poked its head and legs out and scuttled away. "See?"

The others nodded. Colette smiled up at me. "Wow. You know a lot about them!"

I blushed. "Not really... that's really all I know about them..."

Colette smiled still. "Well, even that is good right?"

I blushed harder. "Um... thanks..." _please stop complementing me_.

Lloyd laughed and stood up. "Hey, you guys wanna play in the sea?"

I smiled. "Don't go in too deep Lloyd. Sometimes there are underwater currents that you don't notice until it's too late and they've dragged you out to sea. Be careful, okay?"

Lloyd nodded. "Sure, sure, whatever. So, you guys up for it?"

Genis sighed. "Okay, okay."

Colette grinned and clasped her hands in front of her chest. "Okay. Sure."

I smirked. "You three go ahead. I think I've had enough of the sea for this week. I'll keep an eye on you from here."

Lloyd blinked. "Oh yeah... you were on the wreck weren't you... you nearly drowned... sorry. We don't have to swim if you don't want to."

I smiled. "Lloyd, it's fine. Don't worry. You go on. I don't mind."

Lloyd looked sceptically at me. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. You go on."

Colette looked between me and the water. "Um... I can stay here with you if you want."

I smiled gently at her. "Colette, you do what you want. If you want to swim, then swim. If you want to stay here with me then you can, but don't let me get in the way of your fun. I'll be the responsible adult, you guys have fun."

Colette clasped her hands in front of her chest for a moment before dropping them down towards her legs. She looked over at me. "I would like to stay here with you. I'm not really in the mood for swimming."

I nodded. "Alright then."

Lloyd tilted his head. "Colette? Don't you want to swim?"

I slung an arm over Lloyd's shoulders and dragged him away a few feet. "Lloyd, how old is Colette?"

Lloyd blinked up at me. "She's thirteen."

I nodded. "She's at that age where she's uncomfortable stripping down in front of people of the opposite gender. Especially a man she only met a few days ago."

Lloyd blinked at me. "But you're not a man."

I smirked and tightened my headlock. "Yes, but she doesn't know that. She's just growing up, Lloyd. She's realising that she's becoming a woman and is uncomfortable stripping down in front of guys."

Lloyd nodded. "Right... I don't really get it, but I get it." I nodded and let him go. We walked back over to Colette and Genis. "Okay, Colette. If you don't want to swim you don't have to. Come on, Genis." Lloyd kicked off his boots and stripped down to his boxers and his shirt and ran into the water. Genis ran in after him, in his boxers. How they weren't visible under his shorts I will never know, they were about the same length.

Colette and I sat on a log watching the two boys. I occasionally called out to tell Lloyd he was going in too deep but for the most part I just sat chatting with Colette.

She told me about Iselia and all the different adventures she and the boys have had. Most of her stories had me cracking up. Lloyd was such an idiot sometimes. Eventually Colette and I got bored talking and we kicked our shoes off to splash in the shallows and collect shells. Colette somehow managed to stumble over all the interesting ones. She and I kicked water at each other for a bit before Lloyd and Genis came over and joined in.

I eventually dragged them all out and had Lloyd and Genis towel off and get dressed. Genis was turning an interesting shade of greyish-purple. We then went into the village and played around in the plaza for a while, or rather, the three kids played, I stood at the side for most of the time watching.

It suddenly dawned on me. Genis was about ten, Colette was thirteen and Lloyd was about fourteen... maybe fifteen... I was twenty.

I was _sooo_ much older than them.

But somehow... it didn't matter.

I smiled and grabbed Genis off his feet as he ran past so Lloyd could tickle him. I laughed as the midget mage in my arms squirmed and wriggled to get free. I put him back on the ground and tackled Lloyd. The two of us rolled around for a minute before he pinned me down but Genis and Colette began to tickle attack him which made him let go of me so I reached up to tickle him.

He was then trapped by the three of us.

I looked over and saw Raine walking over. "All right, you four. That's enough. Come on, Frank has invited us all over for dinner."

Genis and Colette stopped tickling Lloyd and he was then able to climb off me and help me to my feet. I dusted myself off and we all collected our bags and headed to Colette's house. I felt kind of awkward since I had only known Colette for... well... today really, and here I was going to her house for dinner with her friends. I felt like I was intruding.

When we got there Colette opened the door and beaconed us all inside. "Father, Grandmother! I'm home!"

Frank looked over from the stove. "Welcome home, Colette. And good evening Lloyd, Genis and Raine." He looked at me. "You must be Drake?"

I nodded. "Yes, that's right." I bowed at the waist. "Hajimemashite. It's nice to meet you."

The others all looked at me strangely for a moment. Lloyd blinked. "What?"

I blushed. "Hajimemashite. It is a traditional greeting when meeting someone for the first time." There was a long silence. "Sorry... I'll be quiet."

Frank blinked. "Ah, no, no. It's okay. It's not a word I've ever heard before. It sounds like it's in another language."

I blinked. "It is. Well... I mean... it's not _this_ language, it's a different one. I don't speak it fluently but I do use it a lot. Sorry..."

Frank nodded and smiled hesitantly. "No, it's okay. Anyway, I'm Frank, Colette's father. My mother is just upstairs at the moment but she should be down soon."

I nodded. "It's nice to meet you, sir. My name is Drake."

Frank nodded. "You arrived here on that shipwreck the other day didn't you? That was quite a nasty storm. I'm glad you're okay. I hate to think of anyone getting hurt, especially someone so close to Colette's age."

I blinked. There was no way I was telling him the 'guy' hanging around with his thirteen year old daughter was actually twenty. No way in hell. "Um... thank you."

Just then Phaidra came downstairs. "Ah, hello, everyone." She spotted me. "Ah, you must be Drake. It's nice to meet you. I'm Phaidra, Colette's grandmother."

Lloyd nodded. "She's also the head priestess of the church. Everyone calls her Lady Phaidra."

Genis chuckled. "Except you, Lloyd."

Lloyd blushed. "Shut up Genis."

I giggled. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am." I bowed. "Hajimemashite."

Phaidra looked confused but Frank gave her a signal I took to mean 'later' and she didn't comment.

Frank smiled. "Just a moment. Dinner's almost ready. Colette, could you help your grandmother set the table?"

Lloyd stepped forward. "Oh, that's okay, I can do it." he went over and got all the plates and cutlery out, easily setting the table.

Phaidra sank into the chair at the end of the table. "Thank you, Lloyd. You're such a good boy."

Lloyd blushed lightly and grinned. He and Genis then helped Frank bring the food to the table. I sat where Raine pointed. Dinner was a bit awkward for me at first but I relaxed easily enough. Frank told me some more stories about the three kids. Raine added a few here and there. Lloyd was rather red by the time desert rolled around. Fruit salad, Colette's favourite.

When the evening rolled to a close Lloyd, Genis, Raine and I said goodbye to the Brunel's and left. At the village entrance Lloyd and I said goodbye to the Sage's and we went back through the forest.

Lloyd sighed. "Please don't bring any of those stories up."

I laughed quietly. "Lloyd, I can tell they embarrassed you a bit. That's what parent's do when their kids bring a new friend home. Don't worry. I'm not going to tease you about it." I slung an arm over his shoulders. "That would be immature of me. I'm a grown woman, not a child."

Lloyd looked at me. "How old _are_ you anyway?"

I smirked. "Twenty."

Lloyd blinked. He blinked again. "WHAT?!"

I laughed. "Race ya!" I ran down the path and Lloyd stood there for a few moments before my challenge sank in. He growled and ran after me. He got level with me at one point and then easily over took me. I ran after him but my hopes of catching up with him were slim to none.

It was not long past the ranch that I slowed down and had to stop. I had very little stamina. While the Exsphere helped I was still unable to run very far or for long.

I blinked as I realised my vision was blurring a bit. I stood up straight and my vision went completely black. I felt myself hit the ground and lay there for a minute, trying to breathe.

There were footsteps that then suddenly sped up. Someone dropped to the ground in front of me. "Drake! Drake!" Lloyd. He rolled me onto my back. "Drake!"

I couched weakly and struggled to breathe. Lloyd scooped me up and carried me towards his house. It was not long after he set off that my vision came back. I managed to get me breathing mostly under control. "L-Lloyd?"

Lloyd stopped and crouched down, setting me on the ground in a seated position, leaning against his arm. "Drake. You okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah." I whispered. "That happens sometimes. No worries. I'll be okay in a minute." We sat there for a minute before I was able to attempt to stand. Lloyd refused to let me walk on my own and I was actually kind of grateful. It took us a while to get back to his house. He nodded to his dad but scooped me up to carry me up the stairs.

He lay me down on the bed and Dirk came in behind us. "Wha' happened?"

Lloyd shook his head. "I don't know. We were racing. I got here and turned around and Drake wasn't behind me. I waited for a bit but he didn't catch up so I backtracked. I found him face down on the path."

I shook my head. "That happens sometimes. It's fine. I blacked out. I was still awake the whole time but I couldn't move or anything. It's normal for me. I'm fine. I didn't mean to make you worry. I'm sorry."

Lloyd sighed. "Are you sure you're okay? I can go get the professor if you want?"

I shook my head. "I'm fine. Really."

Lloyd sighed. "Alright. If you're sure."

I nodded and Lloyd stood up. He and Dirk bid me goodnight and left. I stripped down and slid under the covers. Sleep was the best thing right now.

I hadn't blacked out completely like that in a while.

I lay awake in bed for a while. So, I was learning the language here. What should I do after I finish at the school? I don't want to be there forever.

I could work in the fields but that wasn't really my thing.

I could work in the docks but the smell made me feel sick.

I could work with the town guard. It's not like I would be fighting Desians, Iselia has a peace treaty with them. I could do that for a while I guess. No hardship if I end up changing my mind later.

I rolled over and tried to get to sleep.

My sleep was disturbed by images of my family. My mum had an auto-immune disease. Was she okay still? It's been a few months already. My sister was prone to depression, was she okay? And I worried about my dad too. Had he gone to the hospital and had his chest examined? _Was _it lung cancer? He's been coughing for months, over half a year. Was he okay? And my brother? Was he alright?

I woke up covered in a light sheen of sweat and got out of bed. I silently slipped out the house and sat on a stump just outside. I took a few deep breaths and rubbed at my face. Okay. Calm down. Calm down. No need to panic. No need to freak out. There is no way of knowing what is happening back on earth so speculating will do nothing but make me panic. Just calm down.

I quietly hummed 'missing' by Evanescence for a while before I sang it. I turned around when I heard clapping. I glared up at Lloyd, who was on his balcony. "How long have you been standing there?"

He grinned down at me. "Since you started humming. You're a good singer."

I blushed. "Thank you. Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

Lloyd shook his head. "No, it's okay. I wasn't asleep. You okay?"

I nodded. "Yes. I'm fine. I'll be back in in a bit."

Lloyd nodded. "Don't stay out too long. It gets cold at night."

I nodded. "Sure. Goodnight."

Lloyd nodded and went back inside. I looked down at the ground and rubbed at my arms. It was kind of cold, and I was sitting in nothing but my panties.

Oops.

Lloyd saw that.

I blushed heavily and stood up, dusting myself off and going back inside. Oh, that was embarrassing.


	2. Chapter 2

(1) Flotsam- wreckage, debris, or refuse from a ship, found floating in the water. In maritime law, flotsam is what is found floating after a ship has sunk and jetsam is what was thrown from a ship while it was in trouble.

April 7th 4002

I woke up early the next morning and sat on the bed for a while before getting dressed. I went downstairs and sat at the table with the sheet Raine had given me yesterday and did some more practice with writing. It would likely be some time before I was able to memorise the letters and longer still before I could write them competently. I gave up writing after a while and read until Dirk came downstairs.

He blinked at me for a moment before coming over. "G'mornin lad. Sleep well?"

I hesitated for a moment. "Yes. Thank you." I gave him a shy smile and ducked back down behind my book.

Dirk chuckled and went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. After a while he asked me to go and wake up Lloyd. I jabbed him in the ribs again and once I was sure he was going to get up and not go back to sleep I went back downstairs. Breakfast passed quickly and I helped Lloyd with yesterday's homework and did my own before we left for school.

I looked sideways at Lloyd. "Um... about last night..." I blushed bright red. "Um... i..."

Lloyd looked back at me out of the corner of his eye. "It's okay. Your arm was in the way. I didn't see anything. Let's never mention this again."

I gave a shaky laugh. "Thanks."

As we walked I noticed Lloyd kept glancing at me but I ignored it. When we finally made it to the end of the forest we sat down and rested for a moment. Lloyd was keeping a very close eye on me and I rolled my eyes. Honestly, what was he worried about? We got to school with little trouble and sat and chatted with Genis and Colette for a while before everyone went into the building for lessons to start.

Sooo bored...

I hate school...

Blegh...

Finally the end of the day. I spent most of the day practicing my reading and writing, though I focused on the numbers. I spent a while staring at gald and learning how to count it and recognise each coin. It was a completely different currency than I was used to. I had barely handled it while in Luin, I mostly put it in my pouch and ignored it, I didn't have much to buy.

I wasn't planning on spending long in school.

I waved Lloyd, Genis and Colette off and went to find the carpenter. I asked around and was directed to an area close to the farms. I found him there with Dirk and most of the flotsam from the ship. I grinned as I walked over. "Hey." They looked over and smiled.

The carpenter held his hand out to me. "I forgot to introduce myself yesterday. I'm Thomas, the Carpenter."

"Drake Rise, pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Dirk and Thomas showed me the blue prints for our idea. I looked it over and grinned. "It's perfect." There were a number of different items to be built and it would likely take a while to put together but I knew it would be worth it in the end.

I helped out where I could and told tales of the ones I had seen before and we ended up adding a few more items to be built. I worked for a few hours before the reinforcements arrived and Dirk and Thomas told me I could go. I walked back towards the village and wondered where Lloyd and the others were.

I sighed and went towards the village plaza. I sat on a bench at the plaza and closed my eyes. I looked around at the mana and found two people that weren't human. Definitely Raine and Genis. I looked around the two of them and figured Genis was probably the one over towards the south end of the village. I groaned and stood up, heading back the way I had come and searching for them. I found them easily by a stream.

I ran over and grinned. "Hey guys!"

They looked over and all waved and greeted me. Lloyd looked me over. "Are you alright?"

I raised an eyebrow and leant against a tree to catch my breath. "Yeah, why?"

"Are you sure? After yesterday..." he trailed off and glanced at Genis and Colette who were looking at the two of us curiously.

I sighed. "You mean when I passed out?" Lloyd nodded and Genis and Colette both flinched back in shock. "I'm fine, Lloyd. I don't know why I pass out sometimes but its fine. As long as I don't do it when I'm fighting then I'm fine. Now, what are you lot up to?" I pushed off the tree and walked over to them. I looked down at the stream. "Stream jumping?" They nodded. Surprisingly Colette was the first to shake off her worry, followed by Genis. Lloyd kept a close eye on me the entire time but he relaxed after a while.

We stream jumped for a while with me pointing out interesting things. There were a number of cool bugs that flew around. Some of them resembled dragon flies while others looked like butterflies the size of my head. There were a few frogs and toads and some fish in the stream.

It was funny that I had such terrible spatial awareness but I was able to spot things like dragonflies much easier than anyone else. I was always the first to point them out. Even weirder was I was still not wearing my glasses. Where did I put them anyway?

After we got tired of the stream we went back to the village and noticed how late it was getting. We all went for dinner at the Sage's house before Lloyd and I walked Colette home and headed back up through the forest to Dirk's house. I made Lloyd sit down and do his homework while I did the worksheets Raine had given me. I could copy the letters fine by now, it was reading them that was the problem.

Lloyd and I went to bed at about the same time and I was once again woken up by nightmares. I pulled a shirt on and sat outside for a while. I shook my head but the disturbing visions kept haunting me. I sighed and tried desperately to distract myself with something. I grabbed at the mana in the air and pulled it around, feeling it flow between my fingers. I played with it for a while before going back inside and back to bed.

I was going to be so tired tomorrow.


End file.
